UK snow: Full list of areas forecast to get it in the UK this week

Published

9 months ago

February 8, 2024

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Up to 25cm of snow is forecast in parts of England and Wales for Thursday, according to the Met Office weather forecast.

There are two amber weather warnings in place for snow and ice, and five yellow weather warnings for rain, snow and ice across the UK on Thursday, some of which carry over to Friday.

The amber weather alerts are for parts of England and Wales while the yellow alerts cover most of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What do the warnings mean?

The Met Office has said the amber warnings mean there is a “good chance” rural communities are temporarily cut off, while travel delays on roads are likely and could strand some vehicles.

Power cuts are possible and mobile phone coverage may be affected.

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Delays and cancellations to rail travel are also likely, while untreated pavements and cycle paths are likely to be impassable.

Areas covered by yellow warnings for snow and ice could see longer journey times by road and for train and bus services.

There may be some icy patches on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, causing some injuries from slips and falls.

Where are the amber alerts and what time are they?

There’s an amber warning for snow across the Peak District and South Pennines in place from 12pm until 6pm on Thursday, with up to 25cm of snow forecast across high ground above 300m.

Specifically, it will affect:

• Derbyshire

• Staffordshire

• South Yorkshire

• West Yorkshire

The Met Office said strong and gusty easterly winds may lead to “some drifting in places”, and that 10-15cm of snow is expected quite widely across the warning area.

A separate amber warning for snow and ice will be in place between 8am and 3pm on Thursday in the following regions:

• Parts of North Wales (Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Powys, Wrexham)

• Northwest Shropshire

Up to 20-25cm of snow is forecast in areas above 200m.

The Met Office said that as milder air begins to arrive from the South, there is a chance that snow could turn to “freezing rain across some higher routes above 200m”.

Met Office meteorologist Amy Bokota said an easterly wind meant that places “inland and higher up” were likely to see the most snow.

She said it was “unlikely” that significant levels of snow would be on the ground for days, but added it could lead to difficult driving conditions on Thursday, particularly through the afternoon and early evening.

The forecaster added that most places would see a return to milder conditions by the end of Thursday.

The areas impacted by yellow snow warnings today

The following regions have yellow snow and ice warnings in place from now until 6am on Friday:

• East Midlands

• North East England

• North West England

• Wales

• West Midlands

• Yorkshire and Humber

• Northern Ireland

There’s also a yellow snow and ice warning in the following parts of Scotland from 6pm on Thursday until 3pm on Friday:

• Central, Tayside and Fife

• SW Scotland, Lothian Borders

• Strathclyde

Yellow rain warning

There are a few parts of the UK set to avoid snow this week, but rainfall may still affect them from now until 6am on Friday, warns the Met Office.

For areas under the yellow rain warning, it’s possible a few homes and businesses could be flooded.

Bus and train services will likely be affected with journey times taking longer, and there could be spray and flooding on roads.

Here are the areas affected:

• East of England

• London and South East England

• South West England

• Wales

• West Midlands (Herefordshire)

More warnings for Scotland until Saturday

While all other warning periods conclude on Friday, the following parts of Scotland will still have a yellow snow and ice warning in place from 3pm on Friday until 6pm on Saturday:

• Central, Tayside and Fife

• Grampian

• Highlands and Eilean Siar

• Orkney and Shetland

• Strathclyde

UK

Home secretary to announce extra £500m for neighbourhood policing

Published

22 mins ago

November 19, 2024

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Home secretary to announce extra £500m for neighbourhood policing

An extra £500m of additional funding will be given to neighbourhood policing, the home secretary is set to announce.

Yvette Cooper will also lay out plans for a new unit to improve the performances of police forces across the country to end the “postcode lottery” of how effectively crimes are dealt with.

The Home Office says the unit will directly monitor police performance in areas prioritised by the government, including tackling violence against women and girls and knife crime.

The home secretary will make the announcements in her first major speech at the annual conference of the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners on Tuesday.

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Ms Cooper is expected to say: “Public confidence is the bedrock of our British policing model but in recent years it has been badly eroded, as neighbourhood policing has been cut back and as outdated systems and structures have left the police struggling to keep up with a fast-changing criminal landscape.

“That’s why we’re determined to rebuild neighbourhood policing, to improve performance across police forces and to ensure the highest standards are being upheld across the service.

“The challenge of rebuilding public confidence is a shared one for government and policing.

“This is an opportunity for a fundamental reset in that relationship, and together we will embark on this roadmap for reform to regain the trust and support of the people we all serve and to reinvigorate the best of policing.”

As well as the new government performance unit, ministers also hope to improve the relationship between the public and the police by standardising and measuring police response times – something that is not currently monitored.

In the aftermath of the summer riots, sparked by the Southport stabbings on 29 July, Ms Cooper said respect for the police needed to be restored after the “brazen abuse and contempt” shown by the perpetrators.

She said too often people feel “crime has no consequences” and that “has to change” as she promised to restore confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.

Dr Rick Muir, director of policing thinktank the Police Foundation, said: “A serious reform programme like this in policing is long overdue.

“Too often in the past, officers at the frontline have been let down by outdated technology, inadequate training and inefficient support services.

“Until these issues are addressed, the public won’t get the quality of policing they deserve.”

UK

Post Office Horizon Scandal: Four suspects identified by police

Published

3 hours ago

November 19, 2024

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Post Office Horizon Scandal: Four suspects identified by police

Four suspects have so far been identified by police investigating possible criminal charges in the Post Office scandal, Sky News has learned.

Sources have said that among the offences being considered are perverting the course of justice and perjury.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for stealing from their branches between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon software caused accounting errors.

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The Metropolitan Police is a so-called core participant in the Post Office public inquiry and has been monitoring and assessing material submitted.

It is expected that the number of suspects being investigated by police could rise in the next six to 12 months.

More than a million documents are believed to be being sifted through and the number of police officers investigating the scandal has also risen from 80 to 100, with work across every single police force.

It is not expected, however, that any charges will be brought before 2027/28, and that time frame could be extended.

A Sky News source said the number of suspects was seemingly “just a starting point”.

A meeting took place this weekend between more than 150 sub-postmasters, including Sir Alan Bates, and the Metropolitan Police.

Sir Alan said he had been told by officers that “it was going to take a few years” and that there are “no restrictions on how high investigations will take them”.

He also said the priority for sub-postmasters was financial redress and then, after that, victims will be “looking for people to be held to account”.

A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: “Yesterday [17 November] we met with Alan Bates and some of the affected sub-postmasters to provide a brief on our progress and next steps.

“Our investigation team, comprising around 100 officers from forces across the UK, is now in place and we will be sharing further details in due course.

“Initially four suspects have been identified and we anticipate this number to grow as the investigation progresses.”

UK

British Airways flights delayed after ‘technical issue’

Published

3 hours ago

November 19, 2024

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British Airways flights delayed after 'technical issue'

A “technical issue” at British Airways has delayed flights, reportedly for thousands of passengers.

Travel journalist Simon Calder said on X: “British Airways IT system failure is causing delays of 1-2 hours on many BA flights this evening… As delays build up I fear there will be cancellations tonight/tomorrow.”

In a statement on Monday evening, British Airways said flights were “currently operating, but are experiencing delays” and that its teams were working to “resolve a technical issue affecting some of our systems”.

Later they said it had been resolved: “Our teams worked hard to resolve an issue we experienced for a short time earlier this evening.

“We’ve apologised to customers for delays to their flights and ensured they were able to reach their destinations as planned.”

Earlier media reports suggested dozens of flights were grounded and that communications systems were affected.

One X user pictured people queueing on the tarmac in Verona, Italy. “What has happened to the nations airline? Not fit for purpose,” they said.

Replying to another X user BA said: “Our website is down. We are doing all we can to return online as soon as possible.

“Hopefully not too long before the Captain has his load sheet. Thanks for your understanding. Have a good journey when it is safe for you to be airborne.”

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport said: “We are aware of a technical issue that British Airways are investigating, and we will be working with them to provide updates to passengers as soon as they are available. Heathrow systems are operating as normal.”

In June many British Airways (BA) flights in Heathrow were delayed by several hours by a “technical fault” with baggage handling.

BA said there had been a “temporary technical fault” which had disrupted its baggage system at the airport and had apologised for the problems it caused.